Analysis of an ambiguous-feature discrimination.
An autoshaping experiment with pigeons and three appetitive Pavlovian conditioning experiments with rats investigated the course of an ambiguous-feature discrimination in which trials with stimuli A and BC were followed by food, and trials with B and AC were not. The discrimination between A and B was acquired more rapidly than the discrimination between BC and AC in all experiments. Furthermore, the acquisition of conditioned responding with A was faster than that with BC for the three rat experiments. The results of these experiments are discussed in terms of elemental and configural theories of associative learning.
Haselgrove
Mark
M
School of Psychology, Nottingham University, Nottingham, UK. mark.haselgrove@nottingham.ac.uk
Robinson
Jasper
J
Nelson
Andrew
A
Pearce
John M
JM
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D010856:Columbidae; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule